Bear Wanders Down to Foothill Boulevard, Leaves Peacefully

A bear wandered all the way down to Foothill Boulevard Thursday night but left peacefully before authorities had to intervene, police said.

Police received a call about the bear at about 8 p.m. Thursday, Monrovia Police Sgt. Nick Manfredi said. When officers arrived, the bear was walking around the 100 block of Poinsettia Avenue.

"Then the bear just went off back up north and returned where it was going," Manfredi said.

Patch reader Janie Duncan said she'd never seen a bear travel so far south in the 40 years she's lived in the city. She said her friend was startled by the bear while walking her dog in an alley off Poinsettia.

"When her dog Scooter barked the bear calmly walked over and through Harding Court pass the next apartments and turned up Poinsettia back up to the Foothills," Duncan wrote.

Duncan said police followed the bear until it returned to the wilderness.

"I would like to commend the police for calmly monitoring the bear for safety but allowing it to peacefully go home," she wrote.